On September 18, Adopt-A-Park Partners collected over 1,400lbs of trash at county-operated beaches and parks as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), a global awareness day that began in 1986 by Ocean Conservancy to remove trash from the world’s beaches and waterways. Our partners came out via foot, paddle and SCUBA to host seven cleanups, enlisting over 400 volunteers. The ICC is also an opportunity to educate the community about how plastics and waste impact their environments and how they can make a positive difference by reducing, reusing and recycling every day.
A huge amount of gratitude goes out to all of our partners and those who participated and contributed to the success of the ICC. Special thanks to the following participating Adopt-A-Park Partners who made a difference during the ICC: Loxahatchee River Center, Visit Palm Beach/Palm Beach Eco-tourism Association, Beach Bucket Foundation, Pura Vida Divers, Nautical Ventures, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, Lake Osbourne Estates Homeowners Association and the Caloosa Cleanup Crew.
A monthly clean up host, The Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute was able to hosts their largest cleanup to date with 62 volunteers. They removed 160lbs of garbage—a new record for our partner. Loxahatchee River Center adopted Coral Cove Park this day and removed over 100lbs from the shoreline with the help of almost 90 volunteers of all ages. Meanwhile, Visit Palm Beach/Palm Beach Eco-tourism Association and the Beach Bucket Foundation held a collaborative effort at Ocean Reef Park, removing over 600lbs from the beach with almost 150 volunteers—an outstanding effort leaving our beaches pristine and trash free that weekend.
At Phil Foster Park, our long-term Adopt-A-Park partner, Pura Vida Divers, hosted a land and water cleanup under the Blue Heron Bridge. A team of divers from Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office came out to support this event and helped remove litter that was created from a vessel that had previously polluting the waterways. Pura Vida hosted 49 volunteers and removed 155lbs of garbage. Nautical Ventures organized a paddle cleanup around Peanut Island with 28 volunteers and removed nearly 200lbs of garbage from the Island and surrounding waterways. In John Prince Park, Lake Osborne Estates Homeowners Association came together and cleaned around the trails and shoreline of Lake Osborne, removing 111lbs of litter.
Special thanks to Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful, Inc. for championing this event each year, encouraging organizations to host or participate in organized cleanups and for providing supplies and t-shirts to participants.
You can help keep PBC Parks’ beaches and parks clean by becoming an Adopt-A-Park partner, a program that gives participants a sense of park ownership and an outlet to give back to the community by maintaining parks, beaches, and trails through picking up litter, maintaining flower beds, painting, and more. You can also join or organize a beach cleanup. Learn more about volunteering with PBC Parks here: https://discover.pbcgov.org/parks/General/Volunteer.aspx.
